A Marion County team will take a close look at dangerous intersections as part of a new fatal crash study. The two top officials at the Indiana Republican Party will step down next week. Thousands of Indiana’s Muslim residents gathered over the weekend for a special prayer to celebrate the first day of Eid on Sunday. A historic cemetery where the bodies of Indianapolis’s first Black residents were buried is the center of a development debate – a local historian has been working to help the city ...
Jun 18, 2024•9 min
Ultraconservative pastor Micah Beckwith scored a stunning upset Saturday to become the Indiana Republican Party’s nominee for lieutenant governor. More Indiana students graduate on time, but the state has lost ground in other key educational areas. Southern Baptists voted to oppose In Vitro Fertilization, or IVF, at their national convention in Indianapolis last week. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensiv...
Jun 17, 2024•8 min
The U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials kick off in Indianapolis this week. The Southern Baptist Convention wrapped up Wednesday in Indianapolis, as members voted to decide the church's stance on In Vitro Fertilization. A group of voting rights organizations are worried that recent guidance could lead to over-policing at polling places. Alcohol-impaired car crashes cost communities north of $58 billion in medical costs, legal expenses and lives lost – how one Indiana school is trying to educate teenage...
Jun 14, 2024•9 min
A new animal shelter is in the making for Indianapolis Animal Care Services. The United States’ pivot to biofuels is releasing large amounts of hazardous air pollution into largely rural communities, according to a new report. Marion County voters will have 18 Superior Court judges on their ballot in the November General Election. Renewed federal grants for incarcerated students is making college and prison leaders optimistic. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfy...
Jun 13, 2024•10 min
Free immunization clinics will be available on the south side of Indianapolis this summer. A plan was approved last week to finance and construct a new facility at Purdue University in Indianapolis. There’s a new superintendent of Gary Community Schools. A group of pornography website operators are suing the state of Indiana over a new law that requires stricter age verification for sites that have adult content. There are more than 800 seats on school boards across Indiana up for election in No...
Jun 12, 2024•6 min
Marion County voters will have 18 judges on their ballot in November for the General Election — on Tuesday, eight incumbent judges recommended for retention will give public interviews. A conservative organization is suing Indiana University for its bias reporting system. Indiana’s three candidates for governor have agreed to at least one televised debate this fall — but can the debates matter? Indiana ranks in the bottom half of all 50 states for child well-being. That’s according to the Annie ...
Jun 11, 2024•6 min
Thousands of people came out Saturday for the Indy Pride Parade in downtown Indianapolis. Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann will retire in June of 2025, at the end of her current contract. How can industries around the state be held accountable for emissions and pollution? A new report digs into how mobile and manufactured homes in Indiana contribute to the state's affordable housing problem. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social...
Jun 10, 2024•5 min
The Checkup finds out what parents and young people should know to help prevent overdose deaths. The Southern Baptist Convention is preparing to vote on a proposed constitutional ban on churches with women pastors. New diplomas for Indiana’s high school students are still under revision – but dozens of teachers brought concerns to the State Board of Education meeting on Wednesday. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get...
Jun 07, 2024•9 min
Rufus Parnell Jones, the 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner, died Tuesday at Torrance Memorial Medical Center after a battle with Parkinson's disease. For every 100 job openings in Indiana, there are only 72 workers available to fill those roles – experts say one possible reason is the lack of affordable and accessible childcare. Food insecurity increased for the second straight year in 2023, according to researchers. Bird Flu has been found in dairy cows for the first time across nine states, some in...
Jun 06, 2024•9 min
A majority of the Indianapolis City-County Council voted to approve a new sports development area at its meeting Monday night. The Monroe County Prosecutor’s office is dropping charges for criminal trespass against 55 pro-Gaza demonstrators arrested at IU’s Dunn Meadow. Governor Eric Holcomb announced Tuesday that Microsoft plans to invest $1 billion on a new data center in northwest Indiana. The West Lafayette city council this week voted down a resolution calling for a bilateral ceasefire in G...
Jun 05, 2024•5 min
Two public media news organizations serving local and statewide news in Indiana announced plans last week to cut staff. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is threatening to sue three cities and a county for what he claims are violations of the state’s ban on “sanctuary cities.” The Indiana Department of Environmental Management denied a permit application to turn wetlands in Marion County into a retail complex last week. Fentanyl test strips are a common tool used to prevent overdose deaths, b...
Jun 04, 2024•10 min
June is Pride month for the LGBTQ plus community. Union workers at an Indianapolis REI store are calling on the company to resume the collective bargaining process after several months of what they say amounts to "bad faith bargaining." A new report shows Indiana has a lot of land space for solar and renewable energy projects. What's the progress of nuclear power in Indiana? The trial in the latest legal challenge to Indiana’s near-total abortion ban wrapped up Friday with closing arguments from...
Jun 03, 2024•7 min
The former CEO of Indianapolis charter network Tindley Accelerated Schools is accused of defrauding its schools, by working with two other people to bill for goods and services that were never provided. And a new councilor for Indianapolis’s City-County Council District 15 has been appointed. Health officials confirmed a third U.S. farmworker has become infected with bird flu, connected to their work with dairy cows. Jewish people in Central Indiana are not ignorant of increased antisemitic word...
May 31, 2024•9 min
An attempt to bring a Major League Soccer team to Indianapolis is one step closer to reality. The head of the state's largest teacher's union says he's deeply concerned about the growth of the private school voucher program after a 31 percent enrollment increase, the largest ever jump in a single year. In some cities like West Lafayette, city officials are feeling the heat as calls for a Gaza ceasefire resolution mount. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/n...
May 30, 2024•9 min
Over the past few years, the Biden administration has facilitated billions of dollars in statewide public and private investments in areas such as infrastructure, clean energy and manufacturing. A significant number of Hoosiers lost their Medicaid coverage during a process known as “unwinding,” following the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency. Students can now apply for Indiana’s Career Scholarship Account program for the upcoming school year. On Indiana’s college campuses, Muslim stude...
May 29, 2024•10 min
An effort is underway to help plan interstate changes in Indianapolis. The number of students participating in Indiana’s private-school voucher program is at an all-time high. People with cats shouldn’t feed them raw milk, some animal health experts have warned. A number of Midwestern state legislatures including Indiana, Iowa and Ohio introduced bills this session that could give rights to embryos and fetuses – some Midwesterners worry about how this could affect their reproductive choices. Wan...
May 28, 2024•9 min
On the new installment of our regular segment called The Checkup, the Side Effects team tries to find out why it's hard to lower the cost of drugs. The City of Indianapolis has offered to purchase the riverfront site where the future stadium of Indy Eleven was planned. The state and venture capital firm Elevate Ventures announced Thursday the creation of a $100 million entrepreneurship fund. The Family and Social Services Administration implemented a waitlist for a Medicaid waiver utilized by pe...
May 24, 2024
The Indianapolis 500 is this Sunday, and with a few days to go there is an 80 percent chance of rain. All 92 counties have opted into the second year of Indiana’s “historic” public health initiative. Indiana’s labor force participation rate fell last month to its lowest point in more than two years. The Hoosier Lottery is expected to deliver about $32 million more to the state this year than originally expected. Indiana’s charter oversight board agreed to close Indy STEAM Academy. Want to go dee...
May 23, 2024•6 min
A new troop of chimpanzees is ready to roam at the Indianapolis Zoo. Incumbent Todd Rokita will be the Republican nominee for attorney general this year after no one signed up to challenge him at the state GOP convention next month. The Indiana Hospital Association gets a new leader this week. Jeanetta Holder, known in Gasoline Alley as the Quilt Lady, presented hand-stitched quilts to Indy 500 winners since 1976 – family and friends of Holder were recently able to present her last checkered cre...
May 22, 2024
Indianapolis Public School officials kicked off renovations at Northwest Middle School. A free series of clinics aim to increase diversity in sports with lower minority participation in Indianapolis. A group of 27 states, co-led by Attorney General Todd Rokita, is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its recent carbon reduction rule. Indiana’s education department wants schools to ignore new federal protections for LGBTQ+ students because of a legal challenge. Want to go deeper on the ...
May 21, 2024•5 min
A new program that offers free Pacers Bikeshare rides has proven popular. While former President Donald Trump easily won Indiana’s Republican presidential primary last week, Nikki Haley garnered about twenty-two percent of the vote. The rate of drug overdose deaths in the country decreased by about three percent in 2023. There's been a lot of development in the Town of Speedway over the past decade. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on ...
May 20, 2024
The southwest side of Indianapolis will welcome an $11 million affordable housing complex next spring. The number of students who are chronically absent from school surged during the pandemic and remains high. Indiana stopped sharing individual terminated pregnancy reports last December due to patient privacy concerns, but the attorney general and an anti-abortion group say this violates the state’s public records reporting law. Older women face a much greater financial burden than their male co...
May 17, 2024•6 min
Two Indiana men will appear in court after being arrested on Capitol insurrection charges. Indiana lawmakers will explore school absenteeism, artificial intelligence and homeowners associations, among other issues, during this year’s legislative study committees. How do carbon emission “quotas” work, and how do they affect communities around the state? Public and private efforts to transform the White River and its Indianapolis banks are ongoing, through a variety of developing projects. Want to...
May 16, 2024•9 min
A proposal to create a new professional sports development area was introduced. Child care providers and supporters met to advocate for higher wages and state support for early childhood education. A new pharmacy on the east side aims to offer prescription drugs at lower prices. The latest national abortion count found an increase in the number of abortions in 2023 compared to the year prior. Governor Eric Holcomb says he’s looking for transparency from Republican gubernatorial nominee Mike Brau...
May 15, 2024•6 min
Which Indiana communities are most vulnerable to climate change? A group of states co-led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing the Environmental Protection Agency over its recent carbon rule. Democratic Representative Rita Fleming announced Monday she is resigning her Statehouse seat, effective immediately. The number of recent Indiana high school graduates heading to college is stagnant — a worrying trend as the state struggles to boost educational attainment. Want to go deeper on t...
May 14, 2024
The City of Indianapolis and a local nonprofit last week made two announcements around the city's Pacers Bikeshare program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released new tools to help people plan for extreme heat across the country. Teachers who have not been able to sign up for literacy training funded by the Indiana Department of Education will soon have more chances to do so. The future of the Indy Eleven soccer team and the Eleven Park stadium development is uncertain after...
May 13, 2024•9 min
The Side Effects team looks into the bird flu, to learn about the virus's transmission, its risk to humans, and the impact it has on food. Preliminary voter turnout in Indianapolis and its donut counties was less than 20 percent in the May 7th primary election. Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Braun’s choice for running mate is creating questions, and potential issues, for his campaign. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social...
May 10, 2024•9 min
Children and families can experience a free day of play in downtown Indianapolis this weekend. Two Statehouse incumbents lost their reelection bids in Tuesday’s primary — one from each chamber and one from each party. A little more than a month after leading Iowa to its second straight NCAA championship game, Caitlin Clark will make her Fever home debut in a preseason game against the Atlanta Dream. More than one hundred teachers packed the State Board of Education meeting to demand changes on l...
May 09, 2024•5 min
The state’s Department of Education unveiled its plan last month for more than ten thousand of them to learn a new way to teach reading. An anti-abortion group is suing the agency saying a recent decision violates Indiana’s public records law. The Family and Social Services Administration plans to move forward with a significant change to a Medicaid program utilized by over 1,600 children with disabilities, despite concerns from caregivers. The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana is suing ...
May 08, 2024•7 min
U.S. Senator Mike Braun easily won the crowded Republican primary for governor. Valerie McCray won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, making history in the process. Voters in Pike Township approved a $14.5 million annual levy to support their school district. Jill Sheridan, WFYI's Policy Desk Editor, talks about results from other local elections. Want to go deeper on the stories you hear on WFYI News Now? Visit wfyi.org/news and follow us on social media to get comprehensive analysis and l...
May 07, 2024
